Continuing Education (August 2012)

It has often been said that experience teaches. For many years now, the
worlds of education and politics have turned to each other for talent to
fill high-profile vacancies. This two-way street has enabled presidents
to hire Cabinet secretaries from the world of academia and for former
secretaries to return to the classroom as highly respected and even more
valued members of faculty.

Imagine coming to a foreign country, your spouse about to begin a new post as a diplomat there. You don’t know much about the culture of the land, and your knowledge of the language and customs is slim. The city you’re about to reside in for the next few years seems somewhat daunting. You can’t help but think, “If only there were something to help in this transition.”

George Washington University President Steven Knapp spoke to The Hill about graduate education trends and his own personal experience earning post-bachelor’s degrees. He became the 16th president of the university in August 2007.

A look at a copy of the Rochester Community High School yearbook from 1974 reveals page after page of smiling Indiana teenagers busy with completing schoolwork, attending sports practice and posing for club photos.

The “Post-9/11 GI Bill” came into effect three years ago today. In those few short years since, the legislation has attracted hundreds of thousands of veterans, many of them returning from deployments overseas, including Iraq and Afghanistan.

It’s no question that politics and public speaking go hand in hand, but it often takes time and practice for politicians to become great public speakers. In an age of rapidly changing communication technology, sometimes politicians need to learn the ropes.